1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to preparation of reports using financial software applications. More specifically, the present invention is related to the export and import of report templates to allow multiple users to generate reports from the templates.
2. Description of the Related Art
In financial management software, reports convey data about transactions or conditions. For example, reports can be generated to detail sales, purchases, account balances, net worth, etc. A report has both content and a layout. Content is the data presented in the report, whereas a layout defines which content is presented, and the manner in which it is presented. Content and layout are determined according to the purpose of the report. For example, a sales report generated by someone in the hotel and restaurant industry will typically look different and include different content than a report generated by an automobile dealer. Furthermore, report content and layout can change according to the audience that will be receiving the report. For example, a report prepared for a board of directors may include different content or have a different layout than a report generated for shareholders.
Conventional financial applications typically allow some degree of customization of reports, including selecting a layout from a predefined selection of layouts, defining a layout manually, and specifying content fields for inclusion in the report. However, these customized reports are designed on a file-by-file basis, and thus a report configured for use with a particular set of data cannot be used again on another set of data. Instead, the user must recreate the same layout manually.
In view of the foregoing, a need therefore exists for a way of creating report templates that can be used between multiple data files within an application, and between multiple applications.